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22/05/2017

It’s time… to heal the hurt

While most Australian girls enjoy a safe upbringing, it’s a different story in the central African country of Cameroon.

More than 20 per cent of Cameroon girls between the ages of 15 and 19 have been raped or sexually abused in their lifetime according to UNICEF.
However, the Cameroon Bible Society believes the situation is far worse for many.

Hundreds of young women have been forced to flee from the Boko Haram extremist group in neighbouring Nigeria. Many know of Boko Haram’s violence and terror acts, particularly the abduction of the Chibok school girls who were subjected to rape and forced marriages. But Boko Haram’s terror does not end there. Their raids on villages on the boarders of Cameroon have forced hundreds of young women to flee from their homes. They’re now vulnerable refugees.

The Bible Society of Cameroon, through Project Esther, is helping to break this cycle using the Bible as a vital healing and education tool.
Bible Society Australia is pleased to partner with our Cameroonian cousins. We want to help these vulnerable young women, and we need your help as well.

Our Cameroon Appeal is a holistic ministry for girls and young women, with a focus on trauma healing. Funds are also being sought for much needed literacy programmes for refugees.

A successful Appeal will help:

Prevent the cycle of abuse repeating itself.

Educate the next generation of Cameroon women and help them towards financial independence.

Heal hundreds of traumatised young women through God’s message of healing in the Bible.

Leonie remembers being raped repeatedly as an eight year old by three of her relatives. She says the programme has helped her enormously:

“I didn’t know that God could accept me as dirty as I was. But the good news I got was that God accepts us the way we are. I was assured and felt relieved and free from bondage, captivity and trauma. Now I am very happy because of the teachings I received from the Bible.”

There are many more similar stories. Our Cameroon Appeal will directly assist upwards of 19-hundred vulnerable young girls in Cameroon, as well as more than 11-hundred refugees.

Bible Society Australia is reaching out to the central African republic through Project Esther. We firmly believe it’s time to share these stories and continue the healing in Cameroon.

Chief Operating Officer Melissa Lipsett says “Bible Society is thrilled to see that our mission work is bearing fruit in Cameroon. Hearing that God’s Word is giving meaning to the lives of vulnerable young women is tremendously encouraging. But the need is great and there’s still much to be done”.